Evolving Approaches to Managing Recreational Fisheries

1. Evolving Approaches to Managing Recreational Fisheries Donald Leal The Property and Environment Research Center August 12, 2009 The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Orange Beach, Alabama

2. U.S. marine recreational fishing is increasingly popular outdoor activity • In 2006, 13 million marine anglers caught 476 million fish off U.S. Coasts • From 1996 to 2000, marine recreational fishing (# of trips per year) increased 20 percent in U.S. coastal regions • Nearly third of that occurred in the Gulf.

3. But along with rising popularity comes a number of issues • Failure to limit catch (growing share of TAC in some fisheries) • Trend toward tighter restrictions reflects management problems • User conflicts over allocation • Greater angler dissatisfaction with one-size-fits-all regulations over large areas

4. What are principles for managerial success? • Limit the overall recreational catch • Generate information on catch • Allow flexibility to meet different angler preferences • Build on gains from commercial LAPP programs through integration (transfers, pounds to # of fish etc.) • Mitigate user conflict and increase benefits through optimal allocation mechanism

5. How to maximize benefits through catch allocation Recreational Marginal benefits to commercial sector Marginal benefits to recreational sector Commercial MB = MC qc qr=Q-qc Q =TAC

6. Key points: • Optimal allocation depends on marginal benefits • Total benefits maximized when MBc=MBr • In order to determine the optimal allocation an allocating authority must know relevant segments of marginal benefit curves and anticipate changes • The market is best mechanism for optimizing allocations and achieving cooperation

7. Fisheries management options: • Angler fish tags • For-hire IFQs • AMOs: community quotas for angling groups

8. Fish tags can be modeled after existing programs in wildlife

9. And Recreational Fisheries

10. Current management vs. fish tags no effective harvest limit effective harvest limit shorter seasons longer seasons open to all/allocation not a concern allocations more complicated monitoring and enforcement challenges challenges mitigated requires separate data collection tags provide data no revenue from bag and size limits revenue from tag sales not integrated provides basis for integration

11. For-hire sector: • Given the commercial aspect, IFQs appear well suited. • Same management and operator benefits as in commercial sector. • Once in place, IFQs could be readily traded across commercial and for-hire sectors.

12. Angling management organizations • Like community development quotas • Assign IFQ to a well defined group. • Let the group manage its IFQ and ensure it is not being exceeded • The organization can trade for quota with other angler organizations or commercial quota holders.

13. Possible initial actions: • Design pilot program to test fish tag program for private anglers • Develop criteria for allocating IFQs to for-hire recreational sector • Design test cases for allowing quota trades between commercial and for–hire recreation sectors